Taylorville is a city in and the county seat of Christian County, Illinois, United States. The population was 10,506 at the 2020 census, making it the county's largest city.

History

Taylorville was founded on May 24, 1839, and was named after John Taylor, a planning commissioner for the state of Illinois. Taylorville was known (in the early to mid-1990s) to have had a high rate of neuroblastoma, a cancer affecting the adrenal gland and striking children. The local power company

Central Illinois Public Service Company The Central Illinois Public Service Company was an electric streetcar holding company and power utility first organized in 1902. Under its later quarter billion dollar holding company, CIPSCO Inc. (formerly ), it merged in 1997 with the larger neigh ...

was sued and lost for contaminating the groundwater in 1994. Some outer homes and a business in Taylorville were damaged by an F1 tornado on April 2, 2006. On August 11, 2012, a Beechcraft Model 18 airplane crashed into a residential area of Taylorville, killing the pilot but injuring none on the ground. A subsequent NTSB investigation into the accident concluded that an improper flap configuration and failure to maintain the correct airspeed due to pilot error, resulted in the crash. At about 5:15 PM on December 1, 2018, as part of the December 2018 tornado outbreak, a strong tornado hit Taylorville. The tornado injured at least 26 residents and damaged more than 600 homes and businesses, 34 of which were completely destroyed. Damage surveys by the National Weather Service rated the tornado EF3 with winds over .

Geography

Taylorville is located at (39.540768, −89.288005). According to the 2021 census gazetteer files, Taylorville has a total area of , of which (or 84.38%) is land and (or 15.62%) is water.

Demographics

As of the 2020 census there were 10,506 people, 5,064 households, and 2,507 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 5,336 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 93.81% White, 0.90% African American, 0.24% Native American, 0.94% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.52% from other races, and 3.56% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.65% of the population. There were 5,064 households, out of which 41.33% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 36.45% were married couples living together, 9.72% had a female householder with no husband present, and 50.49% were non-families. 44.10% of all households were made up of individuals, and 20.22% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.96 and the average family size was 2.07. The city's age distribution consisted of 20.7% under the age of 18, 6.4% from 18 to 24, 26.2% from 25 to 44, 27% from 45 to 64, and 19.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42.4 years. For every 100 females, there were 84.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 79.5 males. The median income for a household in the city was $41,397, and the median income for a family was $63,885. Males had a median income of $42,474 versus $28,466 for females. The per capita income for the city was $26,513. About 9.7% of families and 13.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.5% of those under age 18 and 12.7% of those age 65 or over.

Transportation

Taylorville is served by Illinois Route 29, Illinois Route 48 and Illinois Route 104. (by closest major city) Illinois Route 29 connects Taylorville to Springfield Illinois, Illinois Route 48 connects Decatur Illinois including highway access to

US Highway 51 U.S. Route 51 or U.S. Highway 51 (US 51) is a major south-north United States highway that extends from the western suburbs of New Orleans, Louisiana, to within of the Wisconsin–Michigan state line. As most of the United States Numbered High ...

to Pana Illinois and/or Champaign Illinois via Interstate 72, and Illinois Route 104 connects Taylorville to Jacksonville Illinois. Taylorville Watertower

Education

The IHSA single season boys' basketball record of 45–0 was set by Taylorville High School in 1944. Ron Bontemps and Johnny Orr were team members. In 1911, the Taylorville Christians were a member of the Illinois–Missouri League, an American minor league baseball league. Future

Baseball Hall of Fame The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by private interests. It serves as the central point of the history of baseball in the United States and displays baseball-r ...

Ray Schalk Raymond William Schalk (August 12, 1892 – May 19, 1970) was an American professional baseball player, coach, manager and scout. He played as a catcher in Major League Baseball for the Chicago White Sox for the majority of his career. Known ...

played on that team.

Media

The town newspaper is the ''Breeze-Courier'', which is the only daily newspaper serving Christian County. '' The State Journal-Register'', published in

Springfield, Illinois Springfield is the capital of the U.S. state of Illinois and the county seat and largest city of Sangamon County. The city's population was 114,394 at the 2020 census, which makes it the state's seventh most-populous city, the second largest o ...

, covers Taylorville and Christian County quite extensively. The

Decatur, Illinois Decatur ( ) is the largest city and the county seat of Macon County in the U.S. state of Illinois, with a population of 70,522 as of the 2020 Census. The city was founded in 1829 and is situated along the Sangamon River and Lake Decatur in Ce ...

'' Herald & Review'' covers the area as well.

Notable people

John J. Bullington John Jefferson Bullington (July 12, 1879 – August 31, 1929) was an American lawyer, soldier, and politician. Bullington was born in Vandalia, Illinois and went to the public schools in Fayette County, Illinois. He went to Austin College in ...

- Illinois state representative, soldier, and politician; lived and practiced law in Taylorville * Jon Corzine - 54th Governor of New Jersey 2006–2010; United States Senator representing New Jersey 2001–2006; previously co-CEO of

Goldman Sachs Goldman Sachs () is an American multinational investment bank and financial services company. Founded in 1869, Goldman Sachs is headquartered at 200 West Street in Lower Manhattan, with regional headquarters in London, Warsaw, Bangalore, H ...

, and CEO and Chairman of MF Global; born outside Taylorville and graduated from Taylorville High School * Yvonne Craig - actress who appeared in season 3 of the '' 1960s Batman'' TV series as

Batgirl Batgirl is the name of several superheroines appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, depicted as female counterparts and allies to the superhero Batman. Although the character Betty Kane was introduced into publication in ...

; born in Taylorville * Rodney Davis - Congressman, raised in Taylorville and graduated from Taylorville High School * James H. Forrester - Illinois state senator, judge, and lawyer; lived and practiced law in Taylorville *

Harry B. Hershey Harry B. Hershey (March 8, 1885 – August 3, 1967) was an American jurist. Hershey was born March 8, 1885, in Mifflin, Ohio. His family moved to Taylorville, Illinois where Hershey was educated in Taylorville public schools. He earned his bac ...

- Illinois Supreme Court justice; lived in and served as mayor of Taylorville * Randy Hopper - Wisconsin State Senator; born in Taylorville * Vern Mullen - professional football player * Johnny Orr - basketball player and coach; born in Taylorville * Pat Perry - former MLB pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals and the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...

; born in Taylorville *

Edward Mills Purcell Edward Mills Purcell (August 30, 1912 – March 7, 1997) was an American physicist who shared the 1952 Nobel Prize for Physics for his independent discovery (published 1946) of nuclear magnetic resonance in liquids and in solids. Nuclear magne ...

- discovered nuclear magnetic resonance (MRI); winner of the Nobel Prize in Physics (1952); born in Taylorville * James B. Ricks - Illinois Supreme Court justice; served as mayor of Taylorville * Ruth Robertson - photojournalist; born in Taylorville * Joyce Taylor - 1960s film and television actress; born in Taylorville * Rolland F. Tipsword - Illinois state representative, judge, and lawyer; lived and practiced law in Taylorville *

Stuart J. Traynor Stuart J. Traynor Sr. (September 4, 1919 – December 10, 2008) was an American lawyer and politician. Traynor was born in Gillespie, Illinois and went to the Gillespie public schools. He served in the United States Navy during World War II. He gr ...

- Illinois state legislator and lawyer, lived and practiced law in Taylorville. *

Clifford J. Vogelsang Clifford Johnston Vogelsang (November 20, 1892 – May 8, 1933) was an American lawyer and businessman. Vogelsang was born in El Paso, Illinois. He graduated from Illinois Wesleyan University, where he was a member of Tau Kappa Epsilon Fratern ...

- Illinois state senator, judge, and lawyer; lived and practiced law in Taylorville'Illinois Blue Book 1933-1934, Biographical Sketch of Clifford J. Vogelsang, pg. 219

References

External links

Taylorville city website

Taylorville Schools

Lincoln Land Community College-Taylorville

Taylorville Park District

Taylorville Chamber of Commerce

Taylorville Main Street
{{authority control Cities in Christian County, Illinois Cities in Illinois Micropolitan areas of Illinois County seats in Illinois